| Author |
Message |
    
Garrett #2
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 12:15 pm: | 
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The antenna I recently put on my truck is a tuneable kind and I don't know how to tune it..... Anyone have any suggestions? I don't know much about CBs. Do I need a SWR meter and if so where can I get one???
Thanks in Advance |
JMcD
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 12:35 pm: |
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Garrett, in order to tune your cb you will need either a SWR(standing wave ratio) meter or a CB with a built in meter. You can get a meter from any Radio Shack, I can't remember the price but they are not that expensive.
The meter connects in between the cb and antennae, and after getting a the meter calibrated to the cb, the idea is to move the antennae up or down a VERY little bit at a time until you have a good reading. You can adjust the steel 'whip' antennaes as well by cutting the bottom of the antennae to lower it.
It really is not that hard, although depending on what kind of cb you have and where you mount the antennae it probably wont make a huge difference.
I suggest if you want to have it done, save your money on the SWR meter and go to a cb shop or truckstop and ask them to do it for you, they may charge you a few bucks but they generally will get it as good as it can be....... Good Luck, JMcD |
Garrett #2
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 03:09 pm: |
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Thanks JMcD!! |
PerroneFord
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 03:43 pm: |
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I wouldn't trust the one in the radio. After I watched my CB guy show me how it can be adjusted at the factory to read any thing they want, I'll support the external calibrated meter every time.
-P |
Mike Rupp (Mike_Rupp)
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 06:56 pm: |
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http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/Setting_SWR.htm.
One of the important reasons to check the SWR is to make sure the antenna setup is functioning properly. If the SWR is too high, you run the risk of burning out the electronics in the CB. To get an acceptable SWR (<2), I had to use a 4' antenna mounted on the spare tire mount to be able to get enough of the antenna above the roofline. A high SWR rating can also mean that there is a problem in the antenna mount itself or a bad coax line, etc. |
brad
| | Posted on Sunday, March 17, 2002 - 05:03 pm: |
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just find someone with a cb and talk to them and have them talk to you and when it is clear it works fine. |
Axel Haakonsen (Axel)
| | Posted on Sunday, March 17, 2002 - 05:34 pm: |
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"just find someone with a cb and talk to them and have them talk to you and when it is clear it works fine. "
No, that's not how you tune your antenna. The CB will work whether the antenna is tuned or not, but to get it working as efficiently as possible, you need to tune the antenna with an SWR meter. |
Paul T. Schram (Paulschram)
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 08:13 am: |
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Axel:
Actually, Brad's suggestion isn't as farfetched as it might seem at first. Using a field strength meter to tune antennas may actually be the preferred method.
Paul |
JMcD
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 10:54 am: |
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LOL, Yeah, but there are so many variables involved in tuning an antenna, to suggest that to,
"just find someone with a cb and talk to them and have them talk to you and when it is clear it works fine. "
is what you refer to as a 'field strength' test is(in my opinion), reaching. Although I see your point, I still think the best way to setup an antenna is with a SWR meter and a little trial and error. Get a nice low reading and everything else will fall in line. IMHO |
Markd1x2 (Markd1x2)
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 11:40 am: |
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Remember that you are adjusting the length of the antenna in an attempt to match the wave length ( or some fraction thereof) of the frequency used to send and receive. Adjusting the antenna a few fractions of an inch should not "burn up" up any electronics. Removing/disconnecting the antenna and then transmitting (usually on very old radios) can cause damage because you have no "load" on the output. Newer CBs should not have that problem.
The antenna must operate over a range of wave lengths so remember that, with a 40 channel (40 frequencies) CB, the middle channel usually has the best wave length match. That's why truckers use channel 19.
If you adjust for the best SWR on a lower channel, the upper channels will have a poor SWR setting and thereby poorer transmit and receive capability. So use a middle channel when doing the SWR adjustment and when using the CB for longer distances. If you're close to other CBers, the SWR is not that important and higher and lower channels are fine.
Also ..., in this thread, CB is "Citizen Band" not "Cheap Bastard"
Mark |
PerroneFord
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 12:17 pm: |
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You might also consider tuning your setup for the channels you use most often. If your club stays on channel 4, you might want to tune there, and not up on 19 as is the standard. I got lucky on my install and got a SWR of 1.2 on 19 and 1.5 down on 4 which I was happy with. Your results may be different.
-P |
Anonymous
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 12:31 pm: |
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i like to tune in and drop out... |
Paul T. Schram (Paulschram)
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 12:33 pm: |
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Here we go again.
An SWR meter can show a perfect standing wave, yet the antenna to which it is connected can be very inefficient. Example, a 50 ohm resistor will show a perfect SWR, but will not radiate well at all. For this reason, the field strength method is more realistic as it shows the actual far-field signal strength. By definition, the antenna adjustment which results in the greatest far-field signal strength will be the best setting for your antenna.
The worst field strength tuned setup will almost certainly be better than the similar SWR-meter tuned system.
Your typical CB SWR meter is likely not that well calibrated, and if you do not have a 50 ohm dummy load, you have no real means to calibrate the SWR meter at the frequency you are concerned with. Proximity of the case to metal objects, handling the case, etc. can all impact the accuracy of your SWR measurements. While we're at it, the SWR meter should be placed as closely to the antenna as possible to improve the accuracy.
Put simply, if you do not have a Bird watt meter and a dummy load, you are better off using the field strength method.
Now, that said there are antenna tuning meters available from either Vectronics or MFJ (probably the same unit, different labels) which allow you to sweep the range of frequencies you are concerned with to give you a graphic representation of the antenna's characteristics. However, once again, these systems may not adequately take into consideration such things as placement of the antenna when you're not tuning it and the ground situation with respect to your radio. Perrone has a picture of one of these meters on the Spanish trails site, or you can go to MFJ.com. Autek research also makes one, but they don't have the reputation of the MFJ units.
You can also adjust your antenna to maximum RF deflection on transmit-again, by definition, this is the most closely matched point.
One last point, a flat SWR across your frequency range is not necessarily indicative that all is good. As the Q of the tuned circuit rises, the bandwidth will narrow. While it may seem contradictory, you want a high Q circuit in spite of the more narrow bandwidth. Wider bandwidth requires huge conductors to achieve the wide bandwidth without loss of efficiency.
Paul |
Rob Davison (Pokerob)
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 12:42 pm: |
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so this field strength methode consists of doing what?
having a buddy drive way down the road and asking "can you hear me now,,,, can you hear me now"
and then moving the height of the antenna up and down 1mm at a time?
rd |
Paul T. Schram (Paulschram)
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 01:08 pm: |
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Rob:
You can probably do it using the signal strength meter in someone else's radio. Have your friend drive oh, say maybe a block away. You would then transmit while he looks at his S-meter (I say him, as few women would have the patience to put up with us doing something like this-if yours will, marry her). Have your helper radio back to you what the signal strength was. Adjust the length of your antenna and repeat. Continue until your friend has no further change in S-meter readings. If the meter pegs, have him drive further away. If it doesn't deflect enough, have him drive back closer until the reading is in the middle of the scale and then do your adjusting.
You would be best served doing this with a friend you know and trust, rather than asking someone you hear on the radio.
Depending upon conditions, you may have to have your friend down the street, or maybe just next door. To avoid interfering with others or being interfered with, you might do this in the evening, or early morning. One of the pictures in the Amateur Radio Handbook showed a field strength meter on the hood of a car with the antenna nearer the back-that distance was sufficient separation, however, the field strength meter was setup specifically for this purpose.
You will probably see a pretty dramatic change in field strength as you adjust your antenna.
Granted, this method won't give you the information as to whether your antenna is too long or too short, but it is a real-world way of adjusting antennas.
Paul |
Markd1x2 (Markd1x2)
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 02:57 pm: |
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Where you mount your antenna is also important.
It should be as high in the air and un obstructed as possible as well as being equivalent to an even increment of the wave length. I say equivalent because the "load" found on center-load or base-load antennas adds "length"... usually through an RC (Resistive[inductive]-Capacitive) network inside the "load" module.
If you place your antenna low (e.g. down between the spare tire and the back door, or rear bumper) ... don't expect your friend several blocks directly in front of your truck to get as good a "signal strength" as if he/she/it was several blocks directly behind you. Likewise, if you mount it on the left side of your truck don't expect as good a signal to/from the right. That's why big-rig truckers put an antenna on both side mirrors. Of course, most truckers have "illegal" high(wattage) output ampilifiers to blow the speakers out of 2 wheeler's whimpie CBs. Get one of those setups and you can forget the SWR, S-meter and location of the antenna... you could then be your LR outing's "base station" .
Mark |
JMcD
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 03:23 pm: |
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Which brings us back to the question asked,"How do I tune my antenna?"
Of course, Paul and Mark are absolutely right(they dont need me to tell them that), But for the average guy who has a $120 CB and a Wilson/k-40/firestick/Radio Shack/Wal-mart special Antenna and wants to get it working well, I still say buy a $15 SWR meter, spend 10 minutes to get a reading below 2, and call it good. You will be taking full advantage of the equipment you have.
I am no electrical engineer, but having driven Tractor Trailers for 11 years and listened to the cursed CB every day of those 11 years, that is my real world opinion. Take it for what it's worth JMcD |
todd
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 04:16 pm: |
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what if I use my antenna for the radio and cb? How do I tune it then?
Todd |
Markd1x2 (Markd1x2)
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 04:40 pm: |
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Todd,
You don't.
That "universal" radio antenna must cover the CB and AM/FM bands of frequencies. Good luck trying to "tune" to all those.
Mark |
JMcD
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 04:51 pm: |
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Same way, adjust antenna to get a good SWR reading on the CB, leave it be. You do need a splitter box of some kind for the coax to mix with the am/fm lead, but they are pretty cheap.
If you do this you may encounter some 'bleed' over from CB transmit to the am/fm. If you do you probably have a less than ideal ground at the antenna, which is extremely common.
Our fleet runs International Conventionals and all our '99 and 2000 models came through with a single antenna setup, with poor results. Most problems were traced to poor grounds at the splitter box. Once fixed the single setup worked well. YMMV.................JMcD |
todd
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 04:55 pm: |
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i have the spliter box and the ground seems to be ok. I guess I now just need to "tune"it with the swr thing.
Todd |
Rob Davison (Pokerob)
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 05:38 pm: |
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very interesting thread...
i need to get my junk all tuned up but i lack all of the equipment. i think i 'll take a ride up to radio shack and hope the nerd is working.
rd |
JMcD
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 06:10 pm: |
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Try to find a CB shop or Truck stop, they do this junk all day and will (generally) know ten times more than anyone at Radio Shack.
I have a SWR meter you can borrow, has instructions and the spare coax piece. If you want to try it I will send it to anyone who wants to borrow it, just send it back. Like I said above, depending on the CB you have and your antenna, it won't make a huge difference, but it helps. JMcD |
JMcD
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 08:58 pm: |
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ok, no prob. JMcD |
Rob Davison (Pokerob)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 08:26 am: |
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i've swr'd mine all up, got a new 5ft antenne and someone here at work loaned me a 75 watt amplifier. apperently i can broadcast for like 20 miles
rd
i cant wait to make ethnic and racial slurs to piss off all the truck drivers |
Off Road Disco
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 09:43 am: |
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Ger rid of those 4ft and 5ft antenna's and go with a 6" antenna on a GMRS radio ;)
Anyone know who makes a good 1/2 wave CB antenna? |
gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 10:05 am: |
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speaking of all this. i was at my local Sunoco station picking up some bg44k (or whatever) and got talking to this dude that has this old beater of a suburban. he was asking me about my truck and what CB setup i had and all......well to make a long story short, this guy had the most amazing CB setup i have ever seen and will most likely ever see. had two custom made aluminum antennas (6') with steel whips and a 300 watt amp in the back with 3/4" cable. the cb radio was some huge ass thing with fm/am and some other bands i had no clue about. but he was telling me he could talk to his brother in colorado (we are in PA). maybe he was full of shit, but i was impressed. i still get wood thinking about it. (as i am sure rob does too)
i have about a 3 mile range on route 80 with my 4' firestik on my steel rack. i love keeping it on while on road trips.....they say some funny shit out there. and have even made comments about julie when she was in the truck with me. |
Rob Davison (Pokerob)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 10:23 am: |
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i bought the longest thing i could get my hands on, BTW the king nerd was at radio shack as i had hoped, he spewed all kinds of information too me about all this CB shit.
i figure the Amp , though not as big as the one garrett gets wood from, should over come the antenna issues. i mean, christ, the tip of the antenna is 12 ft off the ground, as i have it mounted ontop of the rack.
garrett, you would be proud of the setup i have in the truck now, i'll take a picture tonight.
rd |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 10:32 am: |
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Garrett, if he's on the CB frequencies (11meter) he's illegal but it it is possible. Just talk to any HAM out there.
FWIW, the GMRS radios I posted about are legal to 50 watts and you can use repeaters. The service is very much like the UHF CB's used in Australia. Just ask anyone there about the difference between AM radio on 27mhz (US CB) and FM at 462mhz. The AM CB is a joke. |
gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 10:42 am: |
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yeah take a pic. now i am getting wood thinking about adding an amp now. that sounds good. and more 'stuff' in the truck is better!!
i just love driving through bank teller drive-ups and hearing my antenna bang along the roof of the canopy.......they always have the look of "WTF was that." ah well.
Al....i am pretty sure he mentioned the word "illegal" at some point. but know he was talking about using FM bands too. i mean this was all this guy did. he had 10 times more invested in the CB than his truck. it was pretty cool. i think i will have to pay him a visit this week and ask him some questions about this stuff. |
Paul T. Schram (Paulschram)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 11:54 am: |
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Garrett:
If you got that turned on by the Suburban guy's setup, get your ham license! My dad runs about 600 watts on the ham bands mobile! When he had his Mercedes, you could see lightning from the antenna if the conditions were right.
I also have an acquaintance in town who has been banned from the drive-through at his bank for wiping out the intercom system with his ham rig.
As for the FM the guy had, it could have been (and most likely was) 10 meter ham as FM is somewhat common on 10 meters for local use.
FWIW, I run 1,000 watts from home with an amplifier using a tube the size of a fifth of whiskey. Yes, I can talk to whomever I wish most of the time. I used to talk to a bunch of fellas in Oz on a regular basis. I have had many QSOs with a fella in South Africa while driving to work.
Peace,
Paul |
p m
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 12:31 pm: |
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Paul, a brute force method? hehe
OffRoadDisco, CB's a 12-meter band. a 1/2 wave antenna will be 20ft long (unless it is a quasi-1/2 wl antenna, like 5/8 wl Firestiks). Besides, 1/2 wavelength antenna is unnecessary for trail communications, it has rather odd directional diagram (as opposed to a ~30-degree wide half-donut for a 1/4 wl antenna).
peter |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 12:48 pm: |
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Peter, I was looking for a 1/2 wave for the lack of need of a ground plane. I figured it would be better for a bumper mount. I was thinking someone would make a 1/2 wave sice they (Firestik) make a 5/8's. Just another reason for me to stick with 151mhz or 462mhz. =)
I thought 11 meter (27mhz) was CB (once also a ham band) and 10 (28-29mhz) and 12 meter were ham bands.
Thanks |
Rob Davison (Pokerob)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 12:55 pm: |
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 |
p m
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 12:58 pm: |
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Al,
you can get two shortie 1/4 wave antennas and feed them as a dipole. You would need a matched transformer, though, but that's not a biggie.
speaking of ground plane, few things are better than the roof rack But a 4-ft Firestik on the roof rack isn't exactly garage-friendly.
i get sick of CB limitations... too bad the closest place i can take a test for no-code tech license is about 30 mi away, and i would have to beat the traffic.
200 watts at 10-meter band will go far
peter |
Paul T. Schram (Paulschram)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 02:03 pm: |
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Peter, Peter, Peter...
Five watts will go far on 11 meters if the QRM is down and sunspots up!
Al, why do you want to avoid a counterpoise? You really don't need to be that worried about achieving a satisfactory RF ground. Just make sure that you run a good ground from your antenna base to the nearest metallic body part. I have my antenna mounted to the ladder and a wire running from the mount to the door to ground the antenna.It has worked fine for quite some time. Of course, I initially had no RF ground at the antenna and got some nasty RF burns from it!
Paul |
Joey Chong (Trekker110)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 03:03 pm: |
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30 miles to the nearest VE Testing Session? That's not so bad. In that case, learn the 5wpm and go all the way and get the Extra Class.
Welp, I've been lazy and I still have my General. Maybe when I get around to it I'll upgrade to the Extra.
73s,
Joey |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 03:35 pm: |
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pm, go with GMRS. No test and you can run UHF and use repeaters. It will cover your entire family and inlaws (if you want them on it). A 6" 1/4 wave antenna on UHF is easy and you don't need to listen to a 4' whip wacking your truck every time you hit a low branch. And you can still talk to those with the little FRS radios on your GMRS.
Paul, I was thinking the 1/2 wave would give me lower SWR than mounting a 5/8 wave on my ARB. I don't know if I really want to mount on the roof with lots of trees in my area. Not to mention that a 4' antenna up there would make me look like a bumper car.
I have said good bye to parking in ANY garage a long time ago. With a lift and bigger tires plus my Wilderness rack I've taken concrete off the last garage I "thought" I might have a chance in. Those Wilderness racks can take lots of abuse! |
p m
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 04:26 pm: |
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LOL Al,
when i was on a business trip, my wife drove the disco into a parking structure, on 245/75 + 2" of lift, and 4' Firestik on the roof rack. whacked out a couple of fire alarms and bent the neavy-duty spring under the Firestik. A good evening entertainment for three parking attendants!
Paul, 0.1W will go far on 11 meters... but... if you're anywhere within 50 mi of an interstate highway, truckers will knock down your rig's AGC. The MoFos run 1kW amps, I can sometimes hear round-the-world echo on my lil Realistic (a bit similar to overseas' telephone calls via satellite). And they will whack you out even if they talk on the channel at the other end of the band.
which is why i want something outside CB, and maybe outside 10-12 m bands.
Also, Al, what is GMRS?
peter |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 05:58 pm: |
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Peter, GMRS is a UHF service available in the US. It's almost CB but you actually have to pay $75 to the FCC for a license. It can be done online. The license is issued generally within 24 hours and no test is needed. The frequencies are in the 462mhz range and the repeaters are on the 467mhz range. You can get 5-10 miles with a mobile or about 2-5 miles with a hand held. If you go through a repeater you can get over 10-40 miles range. One plus is that you can also talk to people who use FRS radios on the FRS channels 1-7. The FRS radios are limited to 1/2 watt while GMRS is limited to 50 watts and 5 watts on the "FRS" (GMRS interstitial) channels. However, power in this frequency range isn't as big of an issue as antenna height.
Another bonus for GMRS over CB is that you can use PL or DPL tones to squelch out other people you don't want to hear.
Another big bonus for GMRS (UHF in generall) is that the frequency will have an easier time getting the signal out of your vehicle if you use a handheld radio. If you've ever used a CB hand held in a car you might notice that you can't seem to talk to anyone outside that's not more that a few hundred yards away. The car acts like an insulator. But the shorter UHF frequencies can "escape" the vehicle more easily. As a result of the shorter frequency the antennas are more efficient and smaller. A 1/2 wave GMRS whip antenna is about 12" while a 1/2 wave CB whip is about 102 inches.
There is actually another CB band in VHF called MURS but there is almost no one currently on it since it's so new. MURS requires no license and has 5 channels in the 151mhz and 154 range and is limited to 2 Watts ERP. Given the limitations of MURS I don't think it will offer much over GMRS but others may disagree. |
p m
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 06:35 pm: |
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Thanks Al; how much is a half-decent rig that covers the GMRS range? Are most 144MHz band rigs capable of GMRS operation?
peter |
p m
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 06:54 pm: |
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ok, I dig it now. It is somewhat like having an SSB-capable CB rig, you need to talk someone else to buy one But - it is definitely a great alternative to CB.
peter |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 06:56 pm: |
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GMRS mobile radios are generally commercial radios and very well suited for off road use as they're mil-spec radios. Because of that they generally carry a price to match. The mobiles run from $200 to over $600 depending on how many features and if you want a remote mount for the radio. The Hand Helds run from about $100 for non repeater capable radios on up and for repeater capable radios start around $160 on up. I've picked up brand new Hand Helds and mobiles for about $200 off of eBay.
The radios I'm using are made by Vertex (Yaesu's commercial arm) VX-400 and VX-800 and the ICOM IC-F2020 mobile in my Disco but I'll admit that they're a little overkill. The ICOM IC-F420 would have been good enough if I didn't want the remote mount. Some of the cheaper HAM radios in the 70cm range (430-440mhz) may work in the GMRS range but they're not legal. You can always use a business Part 90 or 95 radio in HAM but not the other way around.
Check out the message board on www.gmrsweb.com for information. For radios check out www.rfwiz.com, www.morcom.com and www.epcom.net. Prices on radios for brands like Vertex and Icom are listed as MSRP and not really what the radios are sold at. So call around.
Other links...
www.icomusa.com
www.yaesu.com
www.radiosonline.com |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 08:23 pm: |
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It's not exactly like SSB since SSB is still 27mhz CB. You're still on the same channels. GMRS uses FM (not AM or SSB like on CB) and you can still talk to the millions of FRS/TalkAbout radios out there with your GMRS radio. Plus if you ever get you ham license many GMRS radios can be programed with the 70cm ham frequencies. |
p m
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 09:39 pm: |
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nah, i mentioned SSB as a logistical issue.
What about the Audiowox GMRS/FRS 2W handheld transceiver with built-in GPS receiver? $199 at Fry's, about the same price in some other places. I think it is repeater-capable, but not sure, I couldn't dig much on it.
I was thinking along the line of having a handheld or low-power mobile, and building a power amp for it.
peter |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 10:42 pm: |
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Audiovox doesn't have a very good reputation. I wouldn't put much faith in it. Motorola has a 2 watt FRS/GMRS radio due out soon that is repeater capable but since it's not out yet I can't comment on it. Motorola generally makes a good radio. For less than that $199 Audiovox you can pick up a Pryme 4 watt GMRS radio that will let you use repeaters (see www.rkleef.com). I think the Pryme PR-460 go for about $170. Pryme isn't a Vertex but it's light years better than any Audiovox. The one big disadvantage to the Motorola 7200 when it hits the streets is that you can't use an external antenna if you want to. The Pryme uses a removable BNC antenna so it would be easy to hook up a power amp to it if you want more than the 4watt output. |
Joey Chong (Trekker110)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 11:03 pm: |
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If you're trying to get to Icom the correct address is http://www.icomamerica.com/
AES has competitive prices on ham, FRS, GMRS gear
http://www.aesham.com
Not really a fan of HRO, but you can use their webpage as a source for comparison
http://www.hamradio.com |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 11:25 pm: |
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Thanks for the ICOM correction Joey.
HRO is can be a little pricy and from what I've seen of AES they don't have much in the way of GMRS radios. But they have some other good stuff. Especially if you're looking for HAM and CB stuff. |
Rob Davison (Pokerob)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 11:27 pm: |
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peter?? audiovox??
audiovox:jeep :: motorola:rover
;)
rd |
p m
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 12:04 pm: |
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hehe
Rob, i have my 2nd Audiowox cell phone, my wife is on her 2nd Audiowox cell phone, they've been tossed around, cracked open, splashed on, etc. and they work. I've seen a bunch of motorola cell phones falling apart, so from this much experience I can't really badmouth AW
but yes, it was a bit odd to come across AW product where I would only expect Yaesu or Icom or Motorola stuff.
peter |
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